Ensuring Reliability in Pharma Packaging Equipment

In the pharmaceutical industry, each step is essential for ensuring the safety of the products and maintaining the company’s reputation.

Packaging, which ensures that each product is properly packaged, sealed, and labeled according to strict regulations and standards, is no exception. It’s the last step where even a tiny mistake can ruin an entire batch of products and incur significant costs.

The Importance of the Packaging Department in Pharma

Pharmaceutical packaging is far more than a simple container. It serves as a protective shield for medications, ensuring their integrity, stability, and potency throughout their journey from production to patient use.

It is vital for the pharmaceutical industry as it impacts many aspects of the business:

Product Protection and Safety: Reliable packaging materials are designed to protect drugs from environmental factors.

Adherence to Regulations: It satisfies regulatory standards for labeling, including information on medications and expiration dates, guaranteeing compliance with the law.

Product Information and Usability: Packaging offers crucial usage directions and rules.

Brand Integrity and Anti-Counterfeiting: Packaging enhances brand recognition and trust while incorporating security features to prevent counterfeiting.

How Reliability Solutions Support Pharma Packaging

Applying reliability solutions is a game changer in pharmaceutical packaging. It ensures that the packaging equipment operates optimally, reducing downtime and enhancing the overall reliability of the packaging process.

These are some of the advantages:

Reduced Downtime and Increased Productivity: Regular inspections, lubrication, and timely replacement of worn-out parts prevent unexpected breakdowns. By complementing the maintenance plan with reliability tasks, downtimes can be planned during non-peak hours, minimizing the impact on production schedules.

Enhanced Equipment Durability: Maintenance activities, such as cleaning, calibration, and vibration analysis, guarantee that the packaging machinery remains in optimal condition. This extends the equipment’s lifespan, providing a better return on investment.

Improved efficiency: Keeping the equipment updated with the latest technologies and improvements enhances its performance and reliability. Consistent updates as a component of the maintenance plan ensure that the machinery remains efficient.

Cost Savings: Reliability solutions help avoid major repairs by addressing issues early. In addition, well-maintained assets operate more efficiently, consuming less energy and reducing operational costs.

Increased safety: Reliable maintenance practices ensure that the packaging equipment does not compromise the safety of the pharmaceutical products. Properly maintained machines reduce the risk of contamination and packaging errors, ensuring that products are safe for consumption.

Technical case study

Take this case study of a global pharmaceutical company. One of its critical assets in the packaging line, a labeling machine, presented an interesting challenge. The company observed an anomaly, where at times, due to its high speed, adhesive labels would be lost or become stuck inside the machine.

After a deep engineering study and different analyses, thanks to data, engineers identified the need for a new optic sensor to detect failures in real time, allowing operators to intervene promptly.

Final words

In an industry where precision and reliability are paramount, maintaining packaging equipment to the highest standards is essential for success.

Applying reliability solutions to the packaging department offers numerous advantages. From reducing downtime and extending equipment lifespan to guaranteeing product quality and ensuring compliance and safety, the benefits are significant.

To learn more about how predictive maintenance supports the pharmaceutical industry, don’t hesitate to have a look at our article Optimizing Pharma Industry: The Role of Predictive Maintenance or get in touch with our team.